TOKYO, Feb 4 (Reuters) - Gold prices inched lower on
Thursday, keeping a bearish tone as investors cautiously awaited
U.S. jobs data later this week that could further boost the
dollar, which would undermine bullion's appeal as a currency
hedge.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold <XAU=> was down 0.2 percent at $1,106.80 an
ounce, compared with New York's notional close of $1,108.85. Spot
gold rose to a peak of $1,124.45 on Wednesday, its highest since
Jan. 20.
* U.S. gold futures for April delivery <GCJ0> eased 0.4
percent to $1,107.70 an ounce, compared with $1,112 an ounce on
the COMEX division of NYMEX.
* Gold turned lower on Wednesday, snapping a two-day winning
streak as a weak euro against the dollar amid fiscal worries in
euro-zone countries weighed down on sentiment.
* The world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, SPDR
Gold Trust <GLD>, said its holdings eased 0.14 percent to
1,110.339 tonnes as of Feb. 3, down 1.583 tonnes from the
previous business day. []
* ETF Securities said total assets of its four U.S. precious
metals exchange-traded products, namely physical gold, silver,
platinum and palladium, now exceeded $1 billion. The company
launched its silver ETF, its first U.S. product, in July.
MARKET NEWS
* U.S. stocks mostly fell on Wednesday, partly weighed by
President Barack Obama's pledge to complete banking and
healthcare reform, which revived fears of increased regulation.
[]
* Obama reiterated his commitment to overhaul the healthcare
system and impose stricter regulatory reforms on Wall Street.
[]
* The dollar kept its firm tone on Thursday after climbing
broadly the day before on improving U.S. job and industry data,
while fears Portugal could be the next euro zone country to face
a debt crisis lifted the greenback against the euro. []
DATA EVENTS
* The following data is expected on Thursday: <ECON>
- German industrial orders for December. (1100 GMT)
- Bank of England rate decision. (1200 GMT)
- European Central Bank rate decision. (1245 GMT)
- ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet speaks. (1330 GMT)
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PRICES
Precious metals prices at 2353 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg 2 Day chg MA 30 RSI
Spot gold $1108.20 -$0.65 -0.06% -4.29% $1112.43 58
Spot silver $16.33 -$0.01 -0.06% -10.18% $17.54 40
Spot plat $1571.50 -$1.00 -0.06% -0.51% $1538.94 60
COMEX gold $1109.10 -$0.80 -0.07% -0.75% $1113.45 55
TOCOM gold 3,255 -1 -0.03% +0.81% 3,275 56
TOCOM plat 4,562 -19 -0.41% +1.42% 4,537 57
Currencies
Euro/dlr $1.390 $0.000 -0.01% -0.46%
Dlr/yen 90.89 -0.10 -0.11% +0.56%
TOCOM prices in yen per gram. Spot prices in $ per ounce.
(Reporting by Chikako Mogi; Editing by Chris Gallagher)
